mandalas

​MANDALASCreate 2 unique mandalas in Photoshop, using the shape tool and Internet imagery. Make a new document 8×8 100 res and create each mandala, thinking about composition and symmetry. Draw a circle with the elliptical marquee tool. Press control and J to make the selection its own layer. Stroke the layer to see the circle. Use the shape tool to put in shapes. Copy a shape by pressing alt with move tool. To combine shapes into one layer, make any layer you do not want combined invisible, and then go to layer>merge visible. To flip a layer, go to Edit>transform>transform either vertical or horizontal. When you save each mandala, save as a .png, not .jpeg. When you post it will only show the circle, not the white document. (If you are not done with your mandala be sure to save it as a .psd while you are still working on it.)

DIGITAL COLLAGE: ALL ABOUT ME-Gather imagery online that represents at least five things about yourself.-In Photoshop, make an 8×10 or 10×8 @150 resolution document and title it All About Me Collage-Select elements from the Internet images to move into your collage.-After you get a good selection with the magic wand or magnetic lasso, remember to go in Mask and refine your selection. If you want soft edges you will go to select>modify>feather.-Think about rules of good composition when designing your layout of elements and background. Move layers around from the layer palette.-To blend layers for a unique effect, you use the move tool and use Shift+ to scroll through blend modes.-Save your work as a psd until you are completely done with it, and then save as a jpeg to post to your blog.-Write a three paragraph reflection about what how your collage visually represents you. Post under your work in your blog.

SURREALISM-Research online for the meaning of SURREALISM and post the definition of surrealism and one example of a surrealistic work of art or photograph. In 2 paragraphs, explain what surrealism is, and why you chose this image and what makes it surreal. Make sure to credit the artist. (Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, and Jerry Uelsman are a few surrealistic artists) After practicing with Kim on the mountain, make your own surrealist piece by putting someone or something where they don’t belong. Make a 10×8 or 8×10 150 resolution document in Photoshop and bring in Internet images for this assignment. Practice selecting, masking and refining your selections. Save as a jpeg and post to your blog.

SHADOWS AND LIGHT ASSIGNMENT

-Photograph 3 photos which show strong shadow and light-Edit 2 of your shadow photos-Include the technical info with each photo: f-stop, Shutter Speed, ISO, Mode-Pick a photo from the Internet showing shadows-Write 10 complete sentences describing the elements in the shadow photo you chose from the Internet and why you like it.-Post your 2 photos, technical info, internet image and writing critique to your blog.

First Shooting Assignment: TEXTURE

Go outside in brighter light and photograph 5 photos that show texture. Put your ISO at 400, and meter the scene to get the correct exposure.Put your photos in a folder on your h drive: DIGITAL PHOTO>TEXTURE ASSIGNMENTEdit your photos in Photoshop with IMAGE ADJUSTMENTS and post 3 of your photos to your blog. INCLUDE THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION(for each photo): aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and camera modeFind one photo online which shows amazing texture. Write a two paragraph critique explaining why you think this is such a successful photograph and why you chose it. Be sure to use academic language, proper grammar and sentence structure.

. COMPOSITIONRead about what makes strong composition in a photograph and what catches the viewers eye. Find 12 sample photos online which show good composition. Make a gallery of images in Edublogs. Post your gallery and write 12 complete sentences, (with capitals and periods), one sentence under each photo in the gallery before posting, to explain what element of composition each photo represents.

1. PHOTOMONTAGE: WHERE YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARSMake a well blended digital photomontage (12×8 or 8×12 -150 res) to show where you see yourself in 10 years. Under your photomontage write a 3 paragraph reflection explaining the elements you put in your work.

POETRY AND YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY

Take a new photo for this assignment or use one of your existing edited photos.

Make a new document 11×14 or 14×11 @ 300 res

Move your photo into your new document and size to fit.

Add a quote, poetry, song lyrics or your own words to your edited image

Post to your blog

3. MAGAZINE COVERCreate a magazine cover (9×12 @ 300 res)using your own photographic image. Include the name of the magazine and a list of articles, which would be within the magazine. Make it look as authentic as possible.

Movie Poster about the Story of Your Life

-Look at movie posters online and put 3 that you like on your blog with an explanation what is it that captures your eye and that you like about these movie posters.-Then make your poster in Photoshop 16×20 @ 300 resolution. Make sure to include the title, at least one original photograph, the actors who will be in the movie, a catch phrase, and a rating.-Post to your blog, and in a 200-300 word reflection give a synopsis on what your movie is about.

3. Food Photography-Go online and look at good samples of food photography. Post 3 to 5 photos of food that you really enjoy looking at and write a 3 paragraph reflection about why you think the lighting and composition is so strong that the photo makes you crave the food. Explain how you think the lighting was achieved.-Read these online articles on how to photograph food and write 10 complete sentences on your blog on what you learned.http://www.foodportfolio.com/blog/food_photography/food_photgraphy.htmlhttp://digital-photography-school.com/top-5-tips-on-how-to-photograph-food/-Then, pretend you are a studio food photographer and photograph food using the studio and the strobes. Take a few photos with varying compositions and post your favorite one or two edited photos to your blog with the writing assignments.

The Touch Series: Create a series of photos where people are touching in some way.

Close Up Portraits: Take close up portraits of some of your classmates. You can use any type of lighting you choose, but make sure to compose as a close up composition. Post 3 portraits of different individuals to your blog and include a list of 10 words in the caption section of each photograph to describe that person.

What you learned this year in class (equipment, technical camera controls, lenses, software PS and LR, lighting, techniques? Details!!!

What were your favorite and least favorite assignments? Give details and reasons why!

What changes would you make in the course curriculum? What changes and why.

Do you feel you bonded with the other students and teacher? How so?

Would you take more photography courses in the future? Why?

What is your favorite thing to photograph? Why?

Would you consider becoming a professional photographer and What field of photography would you be interested in. Why?

Do you think photography is a good form of visual communication? Why and how so? Write your reflection word and post to your blog by Thursday, April 7

1. Re-create a PhotographLook for a photograph online which you would like to re-create. Analyze the original photo for composition and lighting and re-create the photo as closely as you can. Post your photo on your blog with the original photograph. Samples below:

2. DiptychMake a diptych image (2 images together), and the theme is OPPOSITES. In Photoshop make a new document 20×8 300 resolution, and fit your two photographs within the one document. Samples below:

Your Photography Business Powerpoint: (due on my flashdrive by Monday, March 14)You will start a (pretend) photography business either by yourself or in partnership with one of your peer students. Create a Powerpoint Presentation to present to the class and include the items on the list below. (This assignment will count as 3 grades in your gradebook: 1- Your Powerpoint/ 2- Your Presentation/ 3- Your Business Card and Logo):* Business Name and Logo (make a logo in Photoshop for your business. Research photo business logos online to get ideas)* Your name as sole owner or names of the two members in the partnership.*What are the roles of the partners (ex: president, vice president, photographer, editor/retoucher, sales and marketing etc…)* Where will you conduct your business? (which state will you live, will you work out of your home or rent office space in which location)*Address and phone # (pretend)* The type of photography you specialize in, and the types of jobs you intend to get.* Samples of work you would like to produce for your clients. (not your current work, but work from online which is the type of work you would like to produce)* Your web site address (pretend)* What equipment will you be using? (cameras, lenses, strobes, flash, studio set up, hot lights, gels, etc)* Who are your inspirations?* Branding: Create a logo for your business and also make a business card (Make your business card a 3.5 x 2.5 300 res document in Photoshop). Include your logo and business card in your Powerpoint.* Marketing: Include a slide about how are you going to advertise and get jobs in your field?* Market Research: How much money you would like to make in your first year of business, and how much you foresee making in 5 years, and also in 10 years.

2. Photograph your Favorite Teacher with Writing ReflectionUse bounced external flashoff camera and sync cord, to take some nice portraits of your favorite teacher. Edit and post your best portrait and write a 3 paragraph reflection in academic language explaining why you like and admire this teacher. Give details, reasons and examples as to why you chose this teacher.

3. Advertising Photography For this assignment you will create a photograph that would be used for advertising purposes. First you will research advertising photography on the Internet to generate ideas. You will write a proposal before you begin to shoot. Answer the following questions:

Who is the client, or company you are representing?

What is the product?

Who is the target audience?

Where would you expect to see this advertisement?

What kind of lighting are you going to use to make this look professional?

What props do you need?

Shoot the product and use of variety of compositions. Think about: lighting, composition, depth of field, product placement. Use Photoshop to tweak and enhance your photograph. Add necessary text and captions. Post your best advertising shot, EDITED, to your blog with the proposal. Samples below:

2. MULTIPLE EXPOSURE WITH FLASH AND SLOW SHUTTER SPEEDIn the dark studio, set your camera to 20 seconds at F 11 or 16 (adjust as necessary to get the perfect exposure)and 200 ISO. Make sure to be on Manual metering and MF for manual focus. Focus before the lights go off. During the long exposure, have your subject move slightly and manually set off the external flash (at M mode, not ETTL) each time they move and you will capture them several times during the long exposure. You should post your best 1-3 images from the multiple exposure shoot. Also post 1 multiple exposure with flash image from online and write 5 sentences about it. Samples below:

(5) 3-5 On Location Portraits with Bounced External Flash-Use the Canon digital camera and an external bounced flash to photograph portraits on location. Practice shooting with on the hot shoe and also off camera flash with a sync cord. Set your camera on Manual, Auto White Balance, ISO 400, F8 @ 60th of a second shutter speed. Photograph at least 10 portraits and post your top 3-5 edited portraits to your blog.

2. Your PortfolioPut your best work together in a Portfolio. Use Powerpoint or Prezi to present your portfolio to the class. Your portfolio should consist of (at least) 12 slides. 1 Intro slide with your name on it and 10 slides of your best work to date (1 image per slide). The last slide should contain a quote that is meaningful to you.

. Candid Moments with Captions (3-5 Photos with captions for each)Photograph candid moments and edit your images in Photoshop. In the caption section of each photo you post write a caption including who, what , where and why. include your technical info for each photo (MASIL) For a critique look at the work of photographer Henri Cartier Bresson ,who captured the “decisive moment”. On your blog post 2-3 of his photographs and write 10 sentences about his work and your opinion of his timing, composition and ability to capture the perfect moment. Student Samples below:

2. Social Issue PosterIn Photoshop make a document 16×20- 150 resolution for your Social Issue Poster. Pick a social issue which is close to your heart. Include a heading, body text, image (s) from online which visually show your views on this issue. Think about layout, design and composition when you put together your poster. After you save your final version as a jpeg, post to your blog and write 10 sentences explaining what this social issue means to you and your views on it, which should be obvious in your poster. Samples of past student work below. (Please note that I did not require past student to have a heading and body text, but I am requiring that of you this year.)

2. CAPTURING ACTION AND MOTION IN PHOTOGRAPHY

-Take photos outside that capture ACTION SHARP. Try to “capture the moment”. Shoot at the shutter priority mode and auto focus AI SERVO . Make sure your shutter speed is above 125th of a second. ISO 400 Take several photos and post your favorite 2 action shots, edited in Photoshop.-Take action photos inside trying to capture MOTION BLUR. Try to “capture the moment”. Shoot at the shutter priority mode and auto focus AI SERVO mode. Make sure your shutter speed is 60th or below for more blur. Use a tripod to make sure stationary objects are not blurred. Take several photos and post your favorite 2 shots , edited in Photoshop.-Include technical info on all photos: MASIF-Find 2 photos online, one showing action sharp and another showing motion blur. Guess what shutter speeds, f stops, and lens were used. Post as critique.-Read this online article about capturing action and motion photography and write one or two paragraphs stating what you learned about action and motion photography techniques..http://digiphotomag.com/articles/how-to-capturing-action-motion/Samples below:

4. LIGHTROOM PRACTICEPhotograph 100 photos of the same subject (portrait, landscape, advertising, still life etc…) Open your Lightroom catalog and make a new collection for your new images. Edit your photos in Lightroom and post 20-30 of your best ones as a gallery.

Animal MorphingMorph together two or three different animals to create a new species. Blend the images together seamlessly to look as if they are one animal. Add a background or habitat. Name your new animal species.

Close up Portraits

1. TRIPTYCH: BODY PARTSTake 3 photos which go together visually to make a triptych. Edit your photos in Photoshop. Make a new document and size it to be a 9×16 or 16×9 at 200 resolution

Go back to your edited three photos and crop each to 3×5 or 5×3 at 200 resolution.

Move each image into your triptych and resize if necessary.

Layout your images any way your like to make an interesting triptych

Add a subtle low key background under the three photos

Merge layers and save as a jpg.

Post your triptych photo to your blog and come up with a creative name for your work.

Writing Critique: Make a new blog post: What I learned in Photo class and list 20 important and valuable things you learned in Photography class. Student samples below:

PRE-DIGITAL ACTIVITY: make a magazine collage with one background image and 4 elements from other photos

DIGITAL SKILL ASSIGNMENT: Look at examples. Then create a photoshop collage using either a cat or a dog. Make sure to use at least 5 different source photos, and be creative. This is an assignment for practicing how to use the selecting tools, the transform tools, and cutting and pasting. Make sure you chose the selection tool that is right for the job. Sometimes combining selection tools can be the best solution. Make sure the edges are nice and neat. The goal is to NOT be aware that it has been photoshopped. Taking the time to make sure it is neat and done well makes a big difference in the quality of the image.

ACTIVITY: Get on computers and go to explore photos on this siteFind several photographs that you think are good. Think about what makes them good. Find several photographs that you don’t think are good. Think about what is in the photo that you don’t like.

ASSIGNMENT – Think about what it means for a photo to be “good”. Then take 2 good photos of ANYTHING using a digital camera. Bring in the memory card on the due date.LINK TO UNIT NOTE TAKING GUIDE - Packet to take notes

TAKE NOTES: lens choicesmore examples and in portraiture and videoACTIVITY: use your camera to test this out. Start out wide but close to the person, then zoom out more and more as you stand farther and farther away.

DIGITAL SKILL:blend animals (fixing) and here plus fruit-animal hybrid or fruit hybrid (find two animals facing the same way, duplicate background of one and remove head, paste other head and body parts on and layer mask out area that you don’t need, might want to use lower opacity brush, then create new empty layer for cloning low opacity using “all layers’) Hybrid Animal Instructions Note Sheet

ACTIVITY: make a mood board full of things that are big and important or trending in teenagers lives right now, and then predict what a “teen color of next year” would be. (new photoshop file that is 2000×3000 pixels @ 72 dp, at least 30 sources images, and include box with 2017 teen color of the year. then save it in the TEEN COLOR folder)

ACTIVITY: do a web quest and fill out the photo history worksheet then history of photo lecture

ASSIGNMENT – Think about what it means for a photo to be “good”. Then take 2 good photos of ANYTHING using a digital camera. Bring in the memory card on the due date.

DISCUSS: why are some photographs better than others?

ACTIVITY: Get on computers and go to explore photos on this siteFind several photographs that you think are good. Think about what makes them good. Find several photographs that you don’t think are good. Think about what is in the photo that you don’t like.

DIGITAL SKILL: Look at examples. Then create a photoshop collage using either a cat or a dog. Make sure to use at least 5 different source photos, and be creative. This is an assignment for practicing how to use the selecting tools, the transform tools, and cutting and pasting. Make sure you chose the selection tool that is right for the job. Sometimes combining selection tools can be the best solution. Make sure the edges are nice and neat. The goal is to NOT be aware that it has been photoshopped. Taking the time to make sure it is neat and done well makes a big difference in the quality of the image.

VIEW:9/11 imagesDISCUSS: Are these photos important? In what way are they or why aren’t they?

REVIEW SHUTTER SPEED AND APERTURE : get in groups of 2 and pick from the following :infogram , jeopardy, or write and act out a skit. Make sure to include the definitions/explanations of both shutter speed and aperture, the 4 visual effects, and cheater/real settings to get those effects.

DIGITAL SKILL:blend animals (fixing) plus fruit-animal hybrid or fruit hybrid(find two animals facing the same way, duplicate background of one and remove head, paste other head and body parts on and layer mask outarea that you don’t need, might want to use lower opacity brush, then create new empty layer for cloning low opacity using “all layers’) Hybrid Animal Instructions Note Sheet

ACTIVITY: make a mood board full of things that are big and important or trending in teenagers lives right now, and then predict what a “teen color of next year” would be. (new photoshop file that is 2000×3000 pixels @ 72 dp, at least 30 sources images, and include box with 2017 teen color of the year. then save it in the TEEN COLOR folder)

REVIEW SHUTTER AND APERTURE AND ISO: work alone or get in groups of 2 and pick from the following : infogram 1, jeopardy, create a children’s book, or write and act out a skit. Make sure to include the definitions/explanations, visual effects, and settings. Bonus for explaining how aperture and shutter works together.

TUTORIAL : Find relevant a photoshop tutorial for specific skills you want to learn, or browse tutorial sites and find a digital skill that is appealing to you. Try it out and post the original link and your resulting image in a word document. Rewrite and post the tutorial in the most basic and simple way and be ready to show the rest of the class how to do this technique. Turn it into your “you the artist” folder.

RESPONSE: find a podcast, video, or article about photography and write a response to it. First, summarize the content of the podcast/video/article. Then write a detailed entry in a word document about what you thought of it, what you learned from it, what you did and did not like about it, and how it could influence your process as a photographer. Turn it into your “you the artist” folder.

REFLECTION POST: write the following in a word doc based on the photos you turned in this week. Turn it into your “you the artist” folder.

Write a reflection REALLY describing your thought process behind taking the photos and why you shot what you shot. Be descriptive.

Also describe the difficulties and successes that you had while coming up with the idea and shooting it.

The third thing you must write about is a self critique of how it looks and what it means. Pretend someone else took the photo and be as honest and possible in your critique.

Finally write where you plan to go next with the project, or what project you plan to do next. Please describe it so someone who doesnt know you or have a conversation with you about your work will understand what you are doing.

INSPIRATION POST: explore some photographers and their work on the following links and write about their work in how it inspires you to do something in your own work. Make sure you list their name and the site where you found their work. Turn it into your “you the artist” folder.

Lesson 1- Elements and Principles of Design

For you first assignment you will need to take photos of Elements and Principles of Design. You will want to make sure that they Elements and Principles have some similarity in feel. This could be similar topic or style. You will need to make 2 eight by ten inch posters- one for Elements and one for Principles. You will need to make this in Photoshop and you will need to make your text unique. Feel free to go to dafont.com to find fonts that reflect your designs. You will need to download and install. Please make sure to note what font it is. When you are done you will drop it in the drop box on this Blog at http://skylinehsdigitalphotography2.blogspot.com/p/drop-box.html.

The Elements are:LineShapeFormValueColorTextureSpace

The Principles are:BalanceContrastEmphasisPatternMovementUnityRhythm

The Elements: Are the “ingredients” used to create design; the PRINCIPLES combine to create your “recipe” for good design. In both art & nature the elements are seldom seen alone, but in combination.1. Line- a series of connected points.Outlines- Lines made by the edge of an object or its silhouette.Contour Lines- Lines that describe the shape of an object and the interior detail.Gesture Lines- Lines that are energetic and catch the movement and gestures of an activefigure.2. Shape- a closed area bounded by lines. When a line crosses itself or intersects with other linesto enclose a space it creates a shape. Shape is two-dimensional; it has height andwidth but no depth.Geometric Shapes- Circles, squares, rectangles and triangles. We see them in architectureand manufactured items.Organic Shapes- Leaves, seashells, flowers. We see them in nature and with characteristicsthat are free flowing, informal and irregular.Positive Shapes- In a drawing or painting positive shapes are the solid forms in a designsuch as a bowl of fruit. In a sculpture it is the solid form of the sculpture.Negative Shapes- In a drawing it is the space around the positive shape or the shapearound the bowl of fruit. In sculpture it is the empty shape around and between thesculptures.3. Form- a two-dimensional shape becomes three-dimensional it is no longer called a shape but aform. Shading a circle (2-D) can turn it into a sphere (3-D).4. Value- the range of lightness and darkness within a picture. Value is created by a light sourcethat shines on an object creating highlights and shadows.5. Color - the property of objects that, depending on the light they reflect, is perceived as red,blue, yellow or other hues.6. Texture- surface quality. It is the degree of roughness or smoothness in objects. 7. Space- an illusion created in a 2-dimensional work of art. Lines and shapes are organized tohelp a viewer see depth.The PrinciplesThe ELEMENTS are the “ingredients” used to create design; the PRINCIPLES combine to create your “recipe” for good design.1. Balance- equal visual emphasis on different sides of the work. Balance can be symmetrical,assymetrical, or radial.2. Unity- the elements look like they belong together. The artist arranges separate elements tocreate a whole.3. Emphasis- the focal point is the center of interest or emphasis. Emphasis can be created byusing bright color, contrast, highlighting certain shapes and careful placement of an element.4. Contrast- created by placing very different things next to one another. Contrast can definethe focal point. Create contrast by using light next to dark and muted, soft color next to boldcolor.5. Rhythm- created with repetition. The reuse of a design element can lead a viewer to a focalpoint. Repetition can also control the direction and speed of a viewer’s attention.6. Movement- How your eye moves or tracks through a piece of art and the way of combiningvisual elements to produce a sense of action – or implied motion. 7. Pattern- The use of repeated elements to create this.General Art Terms:Compositionis how a work is designed. The overall arrangement/ organization of theELEMENTS and PRINCIPLES of Design. It may be orderly, disorderly, flat or showing depth,symmetrical or asymmetrical, simple or complex, realistic or abstract.Proportion is the relationship of size and scale.

Skyline High School Digital I Photography Project Rubric Name_______________________________ Project_____________________________

DogwoodPhotographyPresents52 Week Photography Challenge for 2 17The original Dogwood Photography 52 Week Challenge was a huge success, with tens of thousands of photographers participating from around the world. In celebration of those who have completed the first challenge, a new challenge is nowhere! The challenge for 2017 has a higher difficulty level than the original challenge. While this challenge is a follow on tothe original challenge, it is also suitable to be completed as a standalone challenge.Story Telling: Good photographers can take beautiful images of something. Great photographers can take animage that tells its story. This category makes use of compositional rules and directed prompts to push youtowards not just looking at the beauty of something, but to find a way to tell that something’s story.Technical: Technical Aptitude is just as important as creative inspiration in photography. With that in mind thiscategory is a mix of in camera and post processing techniques designed to expose you to new technical skills andtechniques. Artistic Impression: When this category comes up, you really have room to express yourself. You can interpretthe assignment literally or figuratively. Unlike the other two categories that are more focused, the idea of thiscategory is to let your creativity shine.WEEK 1 Story: Rule of ThirdsThe rule of thirds is the first compositional rule most photographers learn; but mostdon't know why they learn it. The rule of thirds is amazing for telling a story. Tell astory using rule of thirds.WEEK 2 Technical: SOOCStraight out of the Camera. No Photoshop. Shoot a compelling image and post itwithout edits. No cheating! (Be sure and save the image file for the end of thechallenge!)WEEK 3 Artistic: LandYour inspiration this week is land. This could be a landscape, or an image inspired bythe land in some way.WEEK 4 Story: Mirror Tell a story using a mirror.WEEK 5 Technical: Ten ShotsShoot 10 shots of the same subject. Each shot should be from a different angle,distance, and focal length. Share your favorite image from the set.WEEK 6 Artistic: CandyA throwback to one of the favorite weeks of the original challenge. Your artisticinspiration this week is candy. Since this is the advanced challenge... you can'tactually use candy in the scene.WEEK 7 Story: ForgottenAbandoned was a very popular week in the original challenge. For the advancedchallenge tell the story of something forgotten.WEEK 8 Technical: One ShotImagine that it is the last frame on a roll of film, and you have to nail it. For thischallenge only take one shot. No deleting, no 2nd shot. The honor system is in play.WEEK 9 Artistic: Still LifeYour inspiration this week is Still Life. A couple of pieces of fruit on a table won'timpress in the advanced challenge though... so really be creative.WEEK10Story: PerspectivePerspective for the purpose of this challenge is the relationship of objects in thescene. If you really want a challenge this is a good chance to use forced perspective.WEEK11Technical: Split ToneSplit Tone is an editing technique where the shadows are toned one color, and thehighlights a second color. Split toning is often used with color grading in the media togive a scene a desired look and feel.

WEEK12Artistic: OrangeYour inspiration this week is orange. Either the color orange or an actual orange. Orboth.WEEK13Story: Golden HourThe golden hour is the hour before sunset or after sunrise when the sun castsamazing golden tones. Find a way to use the golden hour to tell a story.WEEK14Technical: PanningUse the technique of panning to capture a subject in movement. Panning is using aslower shutter speed while following the subject with the camera to create the senseof movement in an image.WEEK15Artistic: HardYour artistic inspiration this week is hard. Hard is both an adjective and an adverb.Interpret this how you wish.WEEK16Story: leading LinesLeading Lines are a very important compositional element that every photographerneeds to master. Use leading lines to tell a story. No train tracks.WEEK17Technical: LoopLightingLoop lighting is one of the most used portrait lighting techniques. Shoot a portraitusing loop lighting. If you don't have an off camera flash setup, get creative with howyou light your subject.WEEK18Artistic: PurpleYour inspiration this week is purple. Purple is the color of royalty, magic, andmystery.WEEK19Story: Back Yard Tell the story of your immediate surroundings. Give us a glimpse into your daily life.WEEK20Technical: SkyOverlaySometimes the sky just doesn't cooperate. This week replace the sky in your image.If you need a sky to use in the replacement, search flickr.com for an image to useunder Creative Commons Licensing.WEEK21Artistic: SoftYour artistic inspiration this week is soft. Just like hard earlier in the challenge, soft isboth and adjective and an adverb. Interpret this how you will.WEEK22Story: GeometricShapesTriangles, squares, and circles. They are all very strong compositional elements in animage. Find a way to use geometric shapes in your storytelling.WEEK23Technical: F/8 PortraitShoot a portrait using an aperture setting of F/8. Since this is the advancedchallenge, be sure to find a way to isolate your subject other than shallow depth offield.WEEK24Artistic: Green Your inspiration this week is green. Green is the color of life, nature, and hope.WEEK25Story: Toy Story Not the movie! Tell a story with toys or about toys. (Kind of like the movie...)WEEK26Technical: LightPaintingPut your camera on a tripod at night, open the shutter for 30 seconds, and paintyour subject with light. Flashlights, LED strips, and even laser pointers work great.WEEK27Artistic:CommunicationYour inspiration this week is communication. We live in the age of endlesscommunication, so there is inspiration everywhere.WEEK28Story: Portrait asLandscapeShoot a portrait that is posing as a landscape. Tell a story of the subject using thelandscape around them. Fool the viewer.WEEK29Technical: WaterDropPhotographing a water drop is a mix of lighting, macro, and patience. There areplenty of ways to pull this off, enjoy figuring it out!WEEK30Artistic: FamilyIn the last challenge you shot a family portrait. This time use family as yourinspiration. Since this is the advanced challenge no people can be in the image.WEEK31Story: Frame Within aFrameAnother classic compositional tool is to frame the subject within the frame of theimage. Use this technique this week to tell your story.WEEK32Technical: HDRHDR is the technique of combining several photos of the same scene but shot atdifferent exposures to create an image with a High Dynamic Range.WEEK33Artistic: High KeyHigh Key was one of the most interesting during the last challenge. Last time it was aportrait; this time it is back as inspiration.

WEEK34Story: StrangerTell the story of a stranger. Try using their environment to really inform the viewer oftheir story.WEEK35Technical: StitchedPanoramaA stitched panorama is an image made up of several smaller images stitchedtogether during editing. For an added challenge try using the Brenizer Method.WEEK36Artistic: Low KeyLow Key is the opposite of High Key. Shoot an image where most of the tonal rangeis on left side of the histogram.WEEK37Story: BalanceBalance is the compositional technique of giving each area in a scene equal visualweight. You can achieve balance using color, tone, or juxtaposed subjects.WEEK38Technical: 50mmLearn to sneaker zoom! Shoot an image using only the 50mm Focal Length. Eitheruse a fixed 50mm lens or set your zoom lens to 50mm. Since this is the advancedchallenge make sure the image is compelling.WEEK39Art: Water Your inspiration this week is water. Interpret this how you will.WEEK40Story: Colorful B & WTell the story of a colorful scene. Because this is the advanced challenge, no flowers.Do it in Black and White.WEEK41Technical: LevitationLevitation is part camera trick and part photoshop. Create an interesting levitationimage this week.WEEK42Artistic: Music Your inspiration this week is music. This is wide open so have fun with it.WEEK43Story: MovementCapturing and creating movement in a still photo is a challenge for everyphotographer. Use movement this week to tell a story.WEEK44Technical: Magic NDFilterUse an ND filter combined with a shutter speed of 30 seconds or even longer tocreate your image. Try a waterscape or even a busy landmark to see the magichappen.WEEK45Artistic: Cold Your inspiration this week is cold. Interpret this how you want.WEEK46Story: LandscapeForegroundMany stories are based around portraits, but landscapes can have stories also. Tellthe story of a landscape by using the foreground as the subject and the backgroundas the scene.WEEK47Technical: ShapedBokehBokeh was one of people's favorite weeks. This year take it a step further and createa scene using shaped bokeh.WEEK48Artistic: BodyscapeThe human form has been the study of art since art was first inspired. Yourinspiration this week is the human body.WEEK49Story: Blue HourThe Blue Hour is the hour after sunset or the hour before sunrise when the sky isdominated by amazing blue and purple hues. Use this to tell your story this week.WEEK50Technical: Full EditUse the SOOC shot from the beginning of the challenge and re-edit it to it's full glory.If that shot isn't available feel free to re-edit any of your past work.WEEK51Artistic: FearFear is your inspiration this week. Find a way to show fear in a way that your viewerfeels it.WEEK52Story: Your Story Tell your story

Lesson 2: Photographic CompositionFor this lesson you will need to take photos that are examples of 1. rule of thirds, 2. golden mean, 3. diagonal rule, 4. leading lines, 5. framing within a frame, and 6. symmetry- formal and asymmetrical.

http://jfotography.net/tutorials-composition-rules.phpRule of ThirdsThe rule of thirds suggests that an image should be composed as if divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines with important elements of interest placed on or close to these lines or their points of intersection.

The rule of thirds grid on the left can be overlayed onto images to determine whether the rule of thirds is being satisfied. Below are also various examples that follow the rule of thirds.

To learn more about the history of the rule of thirds, and the theory behinds its effectiveness or to see more examples of its application, consult a search engine.

Golden Ratio (Golden Mean)The like rule of thirds, the golden ratio suggests that an image should be composed as if divided into a series of geometrically similar rectangles with important elements of interest placed on or close to these lines formed by the rectangles or their points of intersection.

The golden ratio grid on the left can be overlayed onto images to determine whether the golden ratio is being satisfied. Below are also various examples that follow the golden ratio.

To learn more about the history of the golden ratio and the mathematics behinds its calculation or to see more examples of its application, consult a search engine.

Diagonal Rule The diagonal rule suggests that important elements of interest should be placed on or close to diagonal of the image.

Leading Lines RuleA corollary of the diagonal rule, the leading lines rule suggests that the natural geometric elements such as the lines of an image should be composed to extend from the corners of the image in order to draw and lead the viewer's eyes through the image.

Framing Within the FrameFraming within the frame suggests that an image may be enhanced by using natural elements such as doors, curtains, trees, etc to provide an additional border or enclosure.

Other Composition RulesComposition rules are not limited to only those explained and demonstrated here. For information on more composition rules such as the rule of odds, rule of space, rule of symmetry and geometry, etc consult a search engine.

Keep in mind that composition rules serve merely as a guide to help you properly compose a photo. Once you become familiar with how to properly compose a photo either through studying these rules or through analyzing photos and seeing what compositions appeal to you, you can compose your photos without referencing these rules. Often you will find that your finalcompositions intuitively fall close to those dictated by these rules.

Centered CompositionWhen used ineffectively, centered composition may be regarded as unimaginative and boring. Composition rules generally recommend employing off centered compositions such as the rule of thirds or the golden ratio. However, when used effectively, centered composition can be used to accentuate an individual important element and emphasize symmetry.

Cutting Off Your SubjectsComposition rules generally recommend including your entire subject in the frame of the photo. However, cutting off your subjects can be used to create a degree of anonymity, to evoke a sense of movement, to convey a feeling of departure, or simply as a compromise so that other composition rules may be more success followed to create an overall more effective photo.

Other Ways to Break the RulesEach composition rule may be followed or broken. These are but a few demonstrations of instances where breaking the rule was desired in order to create a better photo. For more information on instances where breaking the rules may be desired consult a search engine.

Again, keep in mind that composition rules serve merely as a guide to help you properly compose a photo. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide whether to adhere to these rules or to break them.

For this lesson you will need to take photos that are examples of 1. rule of thirds, 2. golden mean, 3.diagonal rule, 4. leading lines, . framing within a frame, and !. symmetry" formal and asymmetri#al.Please read the definitions below and take 3 photos of each types of composition. The trio of eachcomposition type will be titled and added to your weebly. I should see 3 Rule of Thirds images, 3 GoldenMean images, 3 Diagonal Rule images, 3 Leading Lines images, 3 Framing within a Frame and 3Symmetry images. Each image is worth 5 points and the titles are worth 2 points. Please see rubric. Titlescount as Artist Statement.$ule of %hirdsThe rule of thirds suggests that an image should be composed as if divided into nine equal parts by twoequally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines with important elements of interest placed on or close to these lines or their points of intersection.The rule of thirds grid on the left can be overlayed onto images to determine whether the rule of thirds is being satisfied. Below are also various examples that follow the rule of thirds.To learn more about the history of the rule of thirds, and the theory behinds its effectiveness or to see moreexamples of its application, consult a search engine.&olden $atio '&olden (ean)The like rule of thirds, the golden ratio suggests that an image should be composed as if divided into aseries of geometrically similar rectangles with important elements of interest placed on or close to theselines formed by the rectangles or their points of intersection.The golden ratio grid on the left can be overlayed onto images to determine whether the golden ratio is being satisfied. Below are also various examples that follow the golden ratio.To learn more about the history of the golden ratio and the mathematics behinds its calculation or to seemore examples of its application, consult a search engine.*iagonal $uleThe diagonal rule suggests that important elements of interest should be placed on or close to diagonal ofthe image.+eading +ines $ule corollary of the diagonal rule, the leading lines rule suggests that the natural geometric elements such asthe lines of an image should be composed to extend from the corners of the image in order to draw and leadthe viewer!s eyes through the image.Framing ithin the Frame"raming within the frame suggests that an image may be enhanced by using natural elements such as doors,curtains, trees, etc to provide an additional border or enclosure.Using Symmetry to Improve Your Photography Composition

One of the simpler definitions of symmetry states: - “Symmetry is a vague sense of harmonious andbeautiful proportion and balance”.Click the link for the full articlehttp://www.school-of-digital-photography.com/2014/01/using-symmetry-to-improve-your-photography-composition.html.-ther Composition $ules#omposition rules are not limited to only those explained and demonstrated here. "or information on morecomposition rules such as the rule of odds, rule of space, rule of symmetry and geometry, etc consult asearch engine.$eep in mind that composition rules serve merely as a guide to help you properly compose a photo. %nceyou become familiar with how to properly compose a photo either through studying these rules or throughanalyzing photos and seeing what compositions appeal to you, you can compose your photos withoutreferencing these rules. %ften you will find that your finalcompositions intuitively fall close to those dictated by these rules.

reaking the $ulesCentered Composition&hen used ineffectively, centered composition may be regarded as unimaginative and boring. #ompositionrules generally recommend employing off centered compositions such asthe rule of thirds or the goldenratio. 'owever, when used effectively, centered composition can be used to accentuate an individualimportant element and emphasize symmetry.Cutting -ff /our ue#ts#omposition rules generally recommend including your entire sub(ect in the frame of the photo. 'owever,cutting off your sub(ects can be used to create a degree of anonymity, to evoke a sense of movement, toconvey a feeling of departure, or simply as a compromise so that other composition rules may be moresuccess followed to create an overall more effective photo.-ther ays to reak the $ules)ach composition rule may be followed or broken. These are but a few demonstrations of instances where breaking the rule was desired in order to create a better photo. "or more information on instances where breaking the rules may be desired consult a search engine.gain, keep in mind that composition rules serve merely as a guide to help you properly compose a photo.*ltimately, it is up to you to decide whether to adhere to these rules or to break them.Show me more about this topic ​

3 LESSON PLANS FOR HIGH SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHY CLASSESHave you ever tried teaching a teenager science, math or technology? If you have, you know it can be a lesson in frustration. Let’s face it. Science, math and even technology are pretty dry subjects, and it’s hard to find ways for students to learn about them, without having to read thick textbooks, memorize equations and perform the same experiments over and over again. Right now we spend so much time teaching the science of exposure, focus and, yes, even composition, we forget the reason we picked up photography in the first place was to create art.Being a huge proponent of the “Learn by Doing” school of thought, I’ve come up with three captivating lessons you can use to teach a teenager, or even a whole classroom of teenagers, the ART of photography. And if a bit of science comes along for the ride, it won’t be any worse than the vegetables you sneak into their lasagna.Selfies – if you can’t beat ‘em, teach ‘em!Some studies have estimated that a third of the photographs young adults, ages 18 to 24 take is of themselves. It seems like a huge number, but I believe it. I’ve watched hundreds of teenagers get off their school buses at the incredible Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley, only to take a quick shot of themselves and hop right back on their bus. I’ve seen the same effect take place across the Country, from the Lincoln Memorial to the Golden Gate Bridge.It would be easy to write off all teenagers as a generation of selfish narcissists, but I know that isn’t the case. I believe teenagers take and share pictures of themselves because they’ve been empowered to do so. That’s why smart phones have two lenses, one on the front and one on the back. And it’s one of the big reasons why social networking sites like Facebook even exist. So, until the next big thing comes along, or enough “old people” pick up the fad, selfies are here to stay.But, love them or hate them, because selfies are so popular they can be a wonderful teaching opportunity. Because at the heart of each poorly lit, poorly composed and haphazardly focused selfie, lays the heart of a wonderful portrait.Before we begin, it’s important to remember that many of us have issues about the way we look. This is especially true for a lot of teenagers. It’s possible the reason so many teenagers post “ugly” selfies, with scrunched up faces, stuck out tongues and other odd contortions is so they won’t be judged by how they “really” look. I can relate. It wasn’t until I learned about lighting, posing, cropping and retouching that I was comfortable enough to post my own Facebook photos. So be aware and try to be sensitive to the feelings of your students. I don’t think it’s necessary for every student to produce an actual selfie. Shooting a portrait of another student, a family member, friend or even the teacher should also be allowed.IMAGE VIA PIXOTOLESSON #1: TAKING A GREAT SELFIEThe first part of any lesson is what I like to call “The Backstory”. Pick one of your favorite portrait photographers to share with the class. Mine would be Gregory Heisler, but you might prefer Diane Arbus, Eve Arnold, Edouard Boubat, Dorothea Lange or maybe Annie Leibovitz. It really doesn’t matter who you chose, as long as their photographs offer interesting lighting, great emotion and hopefully some creative compositions. Compare the works of your favorite artist to some random selfies. But make sure the selfies aren’t from the class and that they’re anonymous. The point is to contrast and compare the work of portrait artists to the quick and dirty selfies, showing how light, contrast, backgrounds and emotion can make one image memorable, while the other is simply forgettable.The object of your “Backstory” is to instill the desire among your students to create their own innovative and memorable self-portraits. So make sure to ask your students what it is in each of the professional photos that makes them unique and powerful. On the opposite side of the coin, be sure to ask them what it is about the selfies they find lacking.It would be extremely difficult to teach every concept of photography in every lesson. And I doubt if most teenagers, or adults for that matter, can retain all of that information all at one time. So, for this lesson, let’s concentrate on backgrounds, the direction of the lighting and posing.Using some of the sample photographs from your favorite portrait artist, have your students take a look and describe the backgrounds they see in each shot. Ask them these questions as they inspect the images. Are the backgrounds sharp and in focus, or soft and blurry? Are the backgrounds darker than the subject, lighter or a combination that is both darker and lighter in certain areas? Do the backgrounds take away from the subject? In other words, are their eyes drawn to the background instead of the subject? Is there a lot of the background showing, or does the subject take up the majority of the photograph? The object is to get them thinking about every part of the photograph, from corner to corner, and not just the portrait itself.As you already know, because it’s such a huge subject, you can talk light until the cows come home – which is when the light is gone, by the way – so we’re going to narrow our discussion to just the “direction” of light and the difference between harsh light and a softer light. And you can easily demonstrate both with a simple hand-held spotlight and an inexpensive diffuser. Pick a volunteer and have them sit on a stool in the middle of the class. Have the class join you as you walk around the volunteer, keeping the light aimed at the student, but raising and lowering the light as you go. Take another rotation with your diffuser in front of the light. You can break the class into smaller groups if you need to as the demo goes very quickly.Have the students point out both the location and the strength of the shadows as you circle the student and compare how the light “feels” from one location to another and with and without the diffuser. It’s important to convey that there is no “Right” answer with lighting a portrait. Light is simply a tool the photographer uses to convey a feeling or emotion. You might ask your students which kind of light looked the most “dramatic”, and which kind of light seemed the most “flattering”.Our faces tell our stories, but that doesn’t mean all of our chapters are flawless. Our skin can be blemished, our noses crooked and our chins doubled, and the selfie/portrait photographer has the choice of highlighting each of these features, or downplaying them. And while lighting can play a part in this, posing is easier to control and much more effective. A great resource for portrait posing is 8 Posing Guides to Inspire Your PortraitureAnd now to the assignment, and it’s a simple one. Simply ask your students to come back to class with two portraits, either of themselves or someone else on a flash drive. The two portraits must have different backgrounds, different lighting and unique poses, and the students must be ready to explain the choices they made and why they made them.Mood Swings.I can’t stress this enough. Photographs that convey a mood are going to be more memorable than those that don’t. It seems like a simple concept, but even though I think about it almost every day, and I try my hardest to make it happen, not every photograph I produce conveys a mood. I guess it’s just not that easy. But that’s all the more reason to help teens start to look for the expressions, the objects and the kinds of light that help convey a mood.PHOTO BY KEVIN REILLYLESSON #2: ADDING “MOOD” TO MAKE A MEMORABLE PHOTOGRAPHOnce again, you’ll need some sample images to fill in your “Backstory”, but this time I wouldn’t use the works from a single photographer. Instead, look to your own collection of photos, or browse through Flickr or 500px to find photographs that convey a “mood.” Don’t just look for the dark, sad photos. Moody photos can be happy as well. What exactly are you looking for? Photos that convey a mood often leave a lot to the imagination. The “missing” information in a shallow depth of field photograph is a good example. So are the soft streaks of color in a long exposure. An over-exposed photograph can convey a feeling that’s completely the opposite of a dark and gloomy one.There are certain objects that instantly convey a mood; a solitary bench, a puppy, barred windows, a fast car, a dirt road, a single tree…the list goes on and on. Some of the most common “mood” photographs are of sunsets, sunrises and well, just about anything that is shot in the magic hours that around those sunsets and sunrises. Of course, a photograph of a golden retriever riding in a wagon in the middle of a hot, summer afternoon is going to have a mood all of its own too.Have your students number a sheet of paper, with the numbers corresponding to the photos you’re going to display. After you display your first photograph, tell your class to write down the first emotion, feeling or mood they feel when they see it on the line numbered 1. Continue down the list, but go faster and faster as you progress through the slideshow.At the end of the show, ask your students as a class what they wrote down for each photograph. The answers should be the same or similar for every photo. If not, take a moment to discuss the various answers and see if the photograph either failed to convey a mood, or perhaps conveyed a number of moods.PHOTO BY KEVIN REILLYThis is also a great opportunity to introduce some of that nasty-tasting photography science into your discussion. Your students might “feel” the mood in a shallow depth of field photograph, but they are probably unfamiliar with the concept behind its creation. You can be the “Magician behind the Curtain” as you explain how the photograph was made. This goes for those great long-exposure shots as well.Your students will have a great time with the assignment that goes along with this lesson. Have them create two photographs that display a mood. The first photograph will be of an object that conveys a mood by itself. The second will convey mood through the type of light used to shoot the photograph. And finally, for extra credit, students can create a photographic mood through a technique, such as shallow depth of field or slow exposure.Art or Science? Can you tell the Difference?We started this article off with the idea that, for many of us, art is far easier to teach than science. But there is no getting around the fact that a lot of photography is made up of math and geometry and even physics. And if you’re a fan of night photography, you can toss in a little astronomy as well. So, is photography a science after all? Some people think so. They say if a device, such as a camera, comes between you and the finished product, it isn’t really “you” who is producing the art. It’s the camera that’s doing the heavy lifting. I couldn’t disagree more.For me, I follow the other path which simply says “Art is created by Intent”. If I can preconceive an image in my mind, and then produce that image, or at least a very close resemblance of it, then I feel my work is just as much art as a painting or a sculpture or anything else that only identified as art.So, if you go along with my concept that “Art is created by Intent”, you’re probably already guessing what my next assignment will include.LESSON #3: PART 1 – ART OR SCIENCEThis lesson will go pretty fast. List all of the terms you can think of that involve photography on your chalkboard. Just jot down words like “Composition” and “f/stop” and ‘Focus”. You can go to this list, A Glossary of Digital Photography Terms, if you find yourself running short. Go through the list with your students and see if they can identify which word applies to the science of photography and which applies to the art of photography.We’re all hit over the head with the technology behind photography. Words like Megapixels and Focus Points roll off our tongues so often any newcomer to photography would be forgiven if he thought the whole endeavor was strictly an exercise in gathering the best technology. But it isn’t. Photography is an art and I’d like to see more students using words that conveyed that fact. And the more we talk about composition and emotion and mood, the more people will realize that fact.PHOTO BY KEVIN REILLYLESSON #3: PART 2 — BUILDING A PHOTOGRAPH WITH INTENTAnybody who has ever had an English class, and I assume that’s just about everybody, knows how to diagram a sentence to identify its parts. Or, if you’re like me, you at least remember the concept even if the details are fuzzy. It’s been a long time since the 7th grade. The object of this lesson is to identify the various “parts” of a photograph and then use those parts to “build” a new one. The trick is this; the parts your students identify will be from an image that is already produced, sitting right in front of them. The image they are going to “build” will come straight from their imagination.To prepare, print a total of four images on the front and back of a piece of paper. Black and white images are fine for this lesson. Now have the students identify all of the parts of each photograph. The parts will include: the subject, the background, the type of light, the mood, and the technique. This isn’t a test, so it’s fine to help students identify all of the parts. They may need some help with the technique if you haven’t covered that in your previous lessons.Now the fun part. Instruct your students to create four images using the same parts as they identified in the printed photographs. In other words, if the first image contained 1) an object, 2) in low light 3) conveying a happy mood and 4) shot with shallow depth of field, that’s the shot your students would be tasked with producing. When they’re finished, your teen photographers will know how to “produce” a photograph in their head before they go outside with a camera. And with that “intent” they’ll become artists before they know it.I hope you find these ideas useful in your classroom, for your homeschooled teens or just as fun exercises for you and your family.PHOTO BY KEVIN REILLYReferences8 Posing Guides to Inspire Your PortraitureWeb siteDigital Photography SchoolLinkhttp://digital-photography-school.com/8-posing-guides-to-inspire-your-portraiture/ReferenceA Glossary of Digital Photography TermsWeb SiteB&H PhotoLinkhttp://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/buying-guide/glossary-digital-photography-termsReference72 Beautiful Photographs to Express the Moods of Human LifeWeb SiteCreative Design MagazineLinkhttp://creativedesignmagazine.com/photographs-to-express-the-moods-of-human-life.htmlReferencePoll: Selfies Now Make Up 30% of All Photos Taken by Young People Web SiteRelevant magazineLinkhttp://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/poll-selfies-now-make-30-all-photos-taken-young-people

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PHOTO BASICS #1: INTRODUCTION AND EXPOSUREI'm so glad you found your way onto my Photography Basics series. I have taught the basics of photography to millions of photographers around the world through Improve Photography, so I know just exactly how difficult it can seem to learn the basics of photography.My goal is to make this Photography Basics series the absolute simplest way to learn the basics of photography.I hope you'll love this series because of what you learn here, and I hope you'll join the Improve Photography community after you get your feet wet with the photo basics. Let's get going.BASIC EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEEDYou can do photography with even the simplest of cameras, but the principles that I'd like to teach are for people who want to learn to use a DSLR camera, a micro four-thirds camera, or at least a camera that allows the photographer to adjust the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Even some pocket cameras have this functionality.Now that you have your camera, it is time to learn exposure.EXPOSURE–THE MOST BASIC ELEMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHYWhen photographers talk about “exposure,” we simply mean the brightness or darkness of a photo. It seems simple enough to take a photo that is correctly exposed (has the proper brightness or darkness), but in reality it can be quite the trick.To help get the right exposure with your camera settings – you can download this Camera Settings Cheat Sheet guide.If you're reading this Photo Basics series, it probably means that you currently shoot on the “Green mode” of your camera–or the automatic setting. That means the camera entirely controls the exposure of the picture. When you shoot on automatic mode, your camera selects an aperture setting, an ISO setting, a shutter speed, and a host of other settings for you.Automatic can be handy, but it also seriously limits your creative ability to make a beautiful picture.Want proof that automatic isn't the best way to shoot? Check out the picture below. On the left, the picture was taken entirely in automatic mode on a Canon Rebel DSLR. That might look okay to you… until you see the picture on the right. Same sunset. Same camera. The pictures were taken only seconds apart. The difference? The picture on the right was taken using manual exposure.THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO PICTURES IS THAT ONE WAS SHOT WITH AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE, AND THE OTHER WAS SHOT USING CREATIVE EXPOSURE.Which photo do you prefer? Probably the picture on the right! By choosing a creatively dark exposure, the rich colors in the sunset were allowed to shine through.However, technically, the photo on the left is “correct,” and the photo on the right is “incorrect.” The camera saw through the lens and tried to expose the bird so that it wouldn't become a shadow. To me, the photo was not about exposing the bird properly, but exposing the sunset properly. The bird was just a nice shape to include in the foreground. This is exactly why you must learn exposure–because sometimes the “scientifically correct” exposure is not the best exposure to make the photo look how you want it to.WHAT'S NEXT?Now that you understand why it is so important to take control over the exposure, let's move on to lesson #2 where we'll learn all about shutter, aperture and ISO–which are the tools you need to control the exposure. Keep reading for the next 10 or 15 minutes and you'll already understand the basics of how to shoot in manual mode on your camera. I promise shooting in manual mode isn't nearly as scary as you might think.Once you're ready to learn to shoot in manual mode, get tack sharp focus, and master lighting, please consider buying my Photography Start video series. It's a series of 22 video tutorials where I walk you step-by-step through the things that it normally takes my photography students two years to learn. I've priced it at a REALLY reasonable price so you can get a good solid start in photography.

From the example of the sunset picture in installment #1 of this photography basics series, you have learned the importance of taking full control over the exposure on your camera. Now, it's time to dig into your camera and learn the three most basic tools available to you in controlling the exposure.Those tools are shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. After I explain what each one does, I'll explain why we need three separate tools to control the brightness or darkness of the photo.APERTUREA SMALL APERTURE IN A CAMERA LENS.The aperture is a small set of blades in the lens that controls how much light will enter the camera. The blades create a octagonal shape that can be widened (we photogs call it shooting “wide open”), or closed down to a small hole. Obviously, if you shoot with the aperture wide open, then more light is allowed into the camera than if the aperture is closed down to only allow a tiny hole of light to enter the camera.So suppose you take a picture that is too bright. How do you fix it? Simply choose a smaller aperture. Simple! Aperture sizes are measured by f-stops. A high f-stop like f-22 means that the aperture hole is quite small, and a low f-stop like f/3.5 means that the aperture is wide open.Let's test your knowledge to make sure you have it down. If you take a picture and it's too dark at f/5.6, would you choose a lower f-stop number or a higher one? Yep! You'd choose a lower f-stop number, which opens up the aperture to let in more light. The size of the aperture controls more than the brightness or darkness of the picture, though.The aperture also controls the depth-of-field. Depth-of-field is how much of the picture is sharp, and how much is blurry. If you want to take a picture of a person and have the background be blurry, you'd use shallow depth of field. If you want to take a picture of a sweeping mountain vista, you'd want to use a small aperture size (high f-stop number) so that the entire scene is in sharp focus. If you, like me, are more of a visual learner, then I think this graphic will help solidify the information about aperture. Take a minute and make sure you understand this info before moving on..SHUTTER SPEEDThe shutter is a small “curtain” in the camera that quickly rolls over the image sensor (the digital version of film) and allows light to shine onto the imaging sensor for a fraction of a second. The longer the shutter allows light to shine onto the image sensor, the brighter the picture since more light is gathered. A darker picture is produced when the shutter moves very quickly and only allows light to touch the imaging sensor for a tiny fraction of a second. The duration that the shutter allows light onto the image sensor is called the shutter speed, and is measured in fractions of a second. So a shuttedr speed of 1/2 of a second will allow more light to touch the image sensor and will produce a brighter picture than a shutter speed of 1/200 of a second. So if you're taking a picture an it is too dark, you could use a slower shutter speed to allow the camera to gather more light.THAT'S ME! TYPING AWAY ON THIS ARTICLE FROM MY STUDIO IN CALDWELL, IDAHO.Just as the aperture affects the exposure as well as the depth-of field, the shutter affects more than just the exposure. The shutter speed is also principally responsible for controlling the amount of blur in a picture. If you think about it, it makes sense that the shutter speed controls how much blur is in the picture.Imagine me sitting here at my computer desk waving to you (you don't have to imagine very hard if you just look at the picture on the right).If you take a picture of me with a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second, then my hand will have moved in the time that the camera is recording the picture. To get rid of the blur, you need to increase the shutter speed to around 1/320th of a second. At this speed, my hand is still moving, but the camera takes the picture so fast that my hand travels only such a small distance that it is not noticeable in the picture.The next question that most people ask is, how slow of a shutter speed can you use and still get a sharp picture? Click here for a blog post that answers that exact question..

ISOThe funny thing about ISO is that it is an acronym, but nobody really knows what it stands for. It is always just called ISO even though it really stands for International Organization for Standardization. Every once in a while, you'll hear an older photographer pronounce it “I-so”, but almost everyone pronounces it “I.S.O.” The ISO controls the exposure by using software in the camera to make it extra sensitive to light.A high ISO such as ISO 1,600 will produce a brighter picture than a lower ISO such as ISO 100. The drawback to increasing the ISO is that it makes the picture noisier. Digital noise is apparent when a photo looks grainy. Have you ever taken a picture at night with your cell phone or your pocket camera, and noticed that it looks really grainy? That is because the camera tried to compensate for the dark scene by choosing a high ISO, which causes more grain.What constitutes a “high” ISO is constantly changing. Camera companies are constantly improving the ability of cameras to use high ISOs without as much grain. A few years ago, only the highest-end pro DSLR cameras could achieve 2,000 ISO, and now even entry-level DSLR cameras can shoot at this level. Since each camera is different, you would do well to do a few tests with your camera to see how high of an ISO you can shoot at without making the image overly grainy.Right now, you will commonly find new DSLRs that advertise expandable ISO ranges. To learn more about that, click here..PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHERBIGHORN SHEEP IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. PHOTO BY JIM HARMER (FOUNDER OF IMPROVE PHOTOGRAPHY)I know exactly what you're thinking: “Why do I need three tools to control the exposure!?!? Wouldn't one suffice?” The answer is no, and I'll explain why with an example. In January 2012, I took a trip to my favorite place on the planet to take pictures–Yellowstone National Park. My guide informed us that the bighorn sheep in the park were dying off very quickly due to whooping cough, so I worked hard that week to capture pictures of the last few sheep in that area of the park. Around 9AM on a cloudy day, I found a small group of bighorn sheep and started photographing them with a long 600mm lens. The early hour and clouded sky made the situation quite dark for shooting.The lens I was working with (which costs $11,000–don't they know I've gotta send my kids to college?)… Anyway, it had a maximum aperture size of f/4. So I set my aperture at f/4 to gather as much light as possible. This also impacted the depth-of field to blur out the rocks behind the bighorn sheep. Next, I set my shutter speed. I wanted to capture action in the photo, so I set my camera to 1/1000th of a second shutter speed. I knew that this fast of a shutter speed would prevent any motion blur from the sheep running on the mountain side. Then, I took a picture. WAAAY too dark! I couldn't compromise my shutter speed or aperture, so I knew I needed to use the third player in the exposure triangle–the ISO.I played around with my ISO and found that if I increased it to ISO 640, it made the picture bright enough to take the picture without making it overly grainy. Yahtzee! This combination of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO worked out perfectly. Now can you see why you need to know how to shutter, aperture, AND ISO, and know how to set them independently on your camera?Click the link below to continue reading this totally free photography basics series of articles, but if you're more of a visual person and want to see how to set the camera settings for various situations, you should really check out Photography Start.If you're a visual learner and want to really learn your camera, then be sure to check out my beginner photography class, which I call Photography Start. It's a series of 22 short videos where I take you on location to shoot waterfalls, landscapes, people, kids, and macro photos. You can look over my shoulder and see exactly how I set up my camera to take professional photos. Best of all, the video series is priced REALLY reasonably at just $15. Check it out here.In part 3 of the Photo Basics Series, I'm going to teach you how to set these on your camera.

In part 2 of this photography basics series, we learned about aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Now, you need to learn how to apply these settings on your camera to take advantage of your new-found nuggets of knowledge. I'll try to struggle through writing this, but my wife has me on a vegetarian diet right now, and just the mention of nuggets makes me hungry. Anyway…THE GREAT FLAW OF SHOOTING “ICON MODES” ON YOUR CAMERAICON MODES HIGHLIGHTED IN RED.Whenever I teach shooting modes, I always get the same question from members of my class, so I'm going to attempt to deal with that one right off the bat. The question is: why do I need to learn how to set my camera's settings manually when my camera already has built-in modes for sports, portraits, landscapes, etc? (These are, by the way, referred to by photographers as the icon modes because they have icons of the shooting situation on the mode dial).Again, an example will help to explain why these icon modes won't work for those who want to become a “real” photographer.With your new photography skills and your new fancy camera, your family members nominate you the official photographer at your family reunion. It comes time to take the giant group picture with over 60 people in it (including your Uncle Bob who really shouldn't have worn that ugly Hawaiian shirt). What mode do you set the camera to? The little portrait icon, because it's a portrait! But there is a problem… a really big problem. The portrait mode on your camera automatically makes the aperture go really low, because it thinks you want shallow depth-of-field in your portrait. But in this instance, it's such a large group of people that you need full depth-of-field so that the people in the back aren't out of focus. The camera doesn't know your intentions with this portrait, so half of the group looks blurry.And thus we see why the little automatic icon modes (the landscape, portrait, sports modes, etc), simply will not work for photographers who want to learn to take professional-quality photos.WHAT ARE CREATIVE MODES?CREATIVE MODES HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW.The Creative Modes on your camera are Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Mode. On most cameras, they are marked “P, A, S, M.” These stand for “Program Mode, Aperture priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Mode.”If you use a Canon DSLR, then you'll see that your camera company likes to feel “special” by changing up those names. Canon cameras will show “P, Av, Tv, M” for the same exact modes. “Av” is Canon's version of Aperture Priority, and “Tv” is Canon's version of Shutter Priority.It may feel a little bit intimidating to move to these creative modes on your camera, but I'll walk you step-by-step through each of the creative modes, how to use them, and what they do.PROGRAM MODE (P)Just trust me on this one–you don't want to use it–ever.But just in case you're curious, program mode usually (it is slightly different on each camera model) sets the aperture and the shutter speed for you, and allows the photographer to set the white balance, ISO, and flash.This mode is not a great choice for serious photographers because you can't set the shutter speed to make sure the picture isn't blurry, or the aperture to control the depth-of-field. APERTURE PRIORITY MODE (“A” ON MOST CAMERAS, “AV” ON CANON)I'd love to see you use aperture priority for 95% of your shooting for the next several months. It is the mode that most hobbyist photographers and even many many pro photographers shoot in most of the time.When you shoot aperture priority mode, you set the aperture (the f-stop) and also the ISO. The camera will then set a shutter speed for you so that the picture is properly exposed.Aperture priority mode is powerful because it is amazingly simple to use, and still allows the photographer a lot of creative choice. In fact, most competent photographers use aperture priority mode every single day.Suppose you're shooting friends and family at a party. The background is really busy with people and things around the house, so you decide you want a blurry background in the photo (shallow depth-of-field). To achieve this, you set the camera to f/3.5 which is a low aperture and which will blur out the background. The first picture you take is of a person sitting on the couch next to a lamp. The lamp is bright, so you want a fast shutter speed to get the correct exposure since your aperture is wide open. Using aperture priority mode, the camera would automatically set that shutter speed for you. Then, you want to take a picture of someone in a darker corner of the room. You wouldn't have to fiddle with camera settings at all, because the camera will automatically see that it is dark and choose a slower shutter speed. All the while, you're able to keep the aperture set to use creative depth-of-field.If I could only teach you one thing in this photography basics series, it would be to set your camera in aperture priority for the next six months. When you want full depth-of-field, choose a high f-stop (aperture). When you want shallow depth of field, choose a lower f-stop. Your pictures will DRAMATICALLY improve when you learn to control the depth-of-field.SHUTTER PRIORITY MODE (“S” ON MOST CAMERAS, OR “TV” ON CANON CAMERAS)Shutter priority mode sounds very useful, but the truth is that I have never found a professional photographer who uses it. It is a bit difficult to explain why that is.At first blush, it sounds convenient to have a mode where you could choose the shutter speed and ISO and let the camera choose the aperture for you. For example, when shooting a school basketball game, you might think you'd want shutter priority mode because you could set the shutter speed fast enough for the quick-moving sports situation.However, you might be surprised to learn that nearly all professional sports photographers I've worked with shoot in aperture priority mode. Why? Because the depth-of-field is key. We want to control depth-of-field in our sports pictures and we just keep an eye on the shutter speed to make sure the camera isn't picking one that is too low. If it does, then we boost the ISO so that the camera will chose a faster shutter speed.MANUAL MODE (“M”)When I was 16 and drove a car for the first time, my teacher took me to a large parking lot. He asked me to floor it as fast as I possibly could across the parking lot. This was my first time driving! So, I went for it. I felt like I was FLYING! Then, he told me half way across the parking lot to look at the speedometer. I was only going 10 miles per hour (16 kilometers)! The point is, the first time you try anything, it feels intimidating and like you're out of control.The first time any of my students use a camera in manual mode, I can see them terrified to try it out. However, shooting in manual mode really isn't as difficult as it may seem. To understand manual mode, the example below will be helpful.MANUAL MODE. APERTURE: F/18. SHUTTER SPEED: 1/60. ISO 100. NIKON 10-24MM LENS. NIKON D7000 CAMERA.I took the picture above while at a photography conference in San Francisco. In a situation like this, the bridge isn't going anywhere, the bay isn't going anywhere, the chain in front of me wasn't going anywhere… I had a captive audience to say the least. In situations like this, I always use manual mode. I then set my shutter speed to 1/100. I set my ISO to 100 because I wanted no noise in the picture and I knew if I needed more light, I could just slow down the shutter speed.After taking the picture with the settings above, I realized that the picture was coming out a bit too dark with 1/100 shutter speed. So, I slowed it down to 1/60 and it looked just how I wanted.The point is that, eventually, you'll find yourself wanting to shoot in manual mode for situations where you aren't rushed to get the shot. If you're shooting sports, outdoor portraits, or other things, then aperture priority is simpler and faster than shooting in manual mode.But since you're still learning, the best option for the next few months is to get comfortable shooting in aperture priority mode 100% of the time.In the next lesson in this series, you're going to learn how you can dramatically improve your pictures by using creative compositions. We're past most of the technical stuff for now.

In part 3 of this photography basics series, I taught you how to shoot in aperture priority and manual mode on your camera. In this installment, I'm going to teach you how to develop strong compositions in your photos.Here's the thing about composition. There are a few basic rules of composition that you'll easily understand from this article, but you'll soon see as you get out and practice photography that finding a strong composition is a process of trial-and-error which you'll only learn with time and practice.Simply put, composition means meticulously selecting what elements will appear in the picture, and then carefully placing those elements in the frame to create a creative, balanced, and interesting organization.COMPOSITION EXAMPLEEver had a driver's license photo taken? Or a mug shot? Hopefully not the mug shot, but we all know how horrendous those photos look. You can look your absolute best when you get to the driver's license place, but the photo always makes you look terrible. Why? Because they position you in the middle of the frame, and then make you square off your shoulders to the camera.From the photo below, you can see a humorous example of how photographers often envision a picture, and what the camera actually captures. It's funny, but unless you start paying attention to your composition, your pictures will always look like mugshots.DRIVER'S LICENSE PHOTOS ALWAYS LOOK TERRIBLE BECAUSE THEY POSE YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PHOTO AND MAKE YOU SQUARE OFF TO THE CAMERA.THE RULE OF THIRDSImagine a tic-tac-toe board placed on your picture. The rule of thirds says that you should place whatever is most interesting or eye-catching in the photo on the intersection of the lines on the photo. That's really all there is to it!If you're shooting a portrait, decide which eye of the model is the focal point of the image. Usually, it's the eye closest to the camera. Then, adjust the framing of the picture until the eye is on the intersection of the imaginary tic-tac-toe board. Bingo! You followed the rule of thirds.The same is true when shooting a landscape. In many or most landscapes, we like to include some of the foreground up close to the camera so as to give the sweeping landscape a sense of depth. So if there is an interesting rock or plant in the foreground, I'll place it on the bottom-right or bottom-left intersection of the frame. The same is true without a foreground element. You can place the horizon on the top or bottom third-line so that the horizon doesn't cut the picture in half.I wrote a much more complete article about the rule of thirds, which you can check out as well.THE REAL RULE OF COMPOSITIONAsk most amateur photographers in the world what composition is, and 90% of them would answer something like “The rule of thirds and leading lines.” Those are certainly important principles to follow, but I have found that these basic principles are far too simplistic.When I go out and shoot, I usually find that trial-and-error is the only way to get strong compositions. I loosely follow the rule of thirds and other compositional principles, but mostly it's about getting down low and shooting up, or finding something to stand on to shoot down, or moving my tripod an inch here an an inch there, and really playing around until everything in the picture looks balanced and solid. Don't over-analyze the rules.In the next lesson of this Photography Basics series, I'm going to talk about proper focusing techniques.

In the previous installment of this photography basics series, I taught about composition. In this installment, I'll teach you all about focus and why your photos may not be as sharp as you'd like them to be.This morning, I got an email from one of the students in my online beginner photography class who said she spent $2,000 on an expensive camera and another $1,500 on a high-end lens. Still, her pictures don't look as sharp as she would like them to, and wondered why that is. I have to admit that I get this type of question SOO OFTEN that I dedicated an entire WEEK of training in my beginner class to teaching about how to get crystal clear and sharp photos.It is not uncommon for photographers to think that something must be wrong with their equipment if the photos don't come out sharp, but most of the time I find that the reason is simply a product of mistakes the photographer makes when shooting. You can avoid those issues by understanding how to properly focus your camera.THE #1 FOCUSING MISTAKE OF BEGINNING PHOTOGRAPHERSThe #1 mistake I see from beginning photographers in terms of getting clear pictures, is that they aren't being precise with their focus. I often ask students where they are focusing, and I get answers like, “On the model's face.” The fact of the matter is that “the face” is far too large of an area to focus on for intimate portraits. Allow me to explain why…Suppose you're taking a portrait of someone. Now that you've learned how to use shallow depth-of-field from the second article in this series, you want to use it all the time in your portraits to get a creamy background behind the subject. This means you're usually shooting your portraits at f/2.8 or a similar low aperture. Suppose, also, that you're using a 100mm lens and standing 7 feet (2.1 meters) from the subject. Did you know that, with these settings, that only 1.4 inches (3.5 centimeters) of the photo sharp? That means that, if you focus on the person's cheek, their eyes and nose will be partially blurry.So if you want your photos to come out crystal clear and sharp, you need to focus PRECISELY, and make sure you have enough depth-of-field to make the subject come out sharp. When shooting portraits, you will almost always focus on the person's eye, since that is where the viewer of the photo will look first. For landscape photographers, check out this article on where to focus in landscape photography.HOW TO FOCUS ON ONE SPOTWhen you were shooting in automatic mode on your camera, the camera would automatically find the subject and focus for you. Now that you're shooting manually, it's time to take control of your focus as well.Your camera ALWAYS focuses on one specific spot in the scene. It is physically impossible for a lens to focus on two spots at once. When you look through your viewfinder, you see a bunch of dots (Canon) or small boxes (Nikon). Those markings show you where in the frame the camera is focusing. This spot generally blinks red when the camera sets focus.In the picture below, I chose to focus on the ant on the flower, since that is where I wanted people to look. To do this, I set the camera to spot focus and used the four-way selector on the back of my DSLR to move the focus point onto the ant.NOTICE THE RED ILLUMINATED FOCUS POINT RIGHT ON THE ANT? THAT'S WHERE I'M SETTING THE FOCUS FOR THIS SHOT.Sometimes, the spot in the picture where you want to focus will not have a focus point available. This is especially true on entry-level Canon Rebel or Nikon D3200 DSLRs, which do not have many focus points. If you find that this is the case, check out this article on focusing and recomposing.FOCUS SELECTIONSI hope I didn't confuse you earlier when I said that the camera can ONLY focus on one specific spot in the photo. There are ways that you can activate multiple focus points at once, but in doing so, the camera is just choosing the best of both worlds and compromising between the focus selections to set the focus in the middle somewhere.99% of the time when I'm out shooting I use spot focus, which allows me to move around the focus point in the viewfinder. My thumb has become adept at constantly moving around the focus point using the four-way selector on the back of the camera as I compose a shot through the viewfinder. Spot focus is great because you have exact control over where the focus is placed.However, there are other focus selection options on most DSLR cameras. Other than spot focus, you have the ability to choose a small group of between 3 and 5 focus points and tell the camera to choose the best of those points, or you could set your camera to determine which focus point to use all on its own. I never let the camera take control of focus–it's a recipe for blurry pictures. When I'm shooting sports or fast-moving wildlife, I'll sometimes set the camera to use any of the center area focus points and choose the best one, because the action happens faster than I can move the focus point.Although there are certainly situations to use other focus selections, I would encourage you to use spot focus and get used to constantly moving around the focus point around the frame as you shoot for the next few months.FOCUS MODESAside from selecting which focus point(s) the camera is using, you also need to set which type of autofocus the camera will use. For most uses, you'll want to leave your camera on “AF-S” (Nikon) or “One Shot” (Canon). This means that the camera will acquire focus when you press half-way down on the shutter button, and then take the picture when you finish pressing all the way down on the shutter button.The other main option is continuous focus (displayed on the camera as “AF-C” for Nikon cameras and “AI Servo” for Canon cameras). This mode is used when the subject is moving. Suppose you're shooting a soccer player running toward you. If you use one shot, then the camera focuses when you press half way down on the shutter, and by the time you finish pressing all the way down, the camera takes the picture. In that split second, the athlete will have moved, so the picture will not turn out sharp. Continuous focus (AF-C or AI SERVO) means that the camera continues to find focus all the way up to the instant that you snap the picture.So why wouldn't you want to use continuous focus all the time? Because it's slightly less precise than one shot. So here's the rule… use one shot (“AF-S” on Nikon, and “One Shot” on Canon) for all shots where the subject is reasonably still like landscapes or most portraits. Use continuous focus (“AF-C” on Nikon, and “AI Servo” on Canon) for all fast-moving shots.Note: Canon users will also see the option for “AI Focus” when choosing a focus mode. There is a specific use for this, but honestly it's just outdated technology. I have tried it extensively even in the best case scenarios for this focus mode and have always achieved better results with AI Servo.You have just learned a LOT of the basics of how your camera works, but there is much more to learn. If you want more information like this in video format that you can watch at your own pace, you should really check out my beginner online photography class. It's only $15 for 22 videos (many filmed on-location) with all the camera settings for each picture, videos of exactly how to put a composition together, and training on getting tack sharp photos.

13 Lessons About Digital Photography1. ExperimentLooking over many of the shots that I took in those early days shows me that I took a lot of shots of almost exactly the same things. I approached my subjects in much the same way with every shot and as a result ended up with very similar results.Teach kids how to vary their shots in a number ways:

A. Shoot from different perspectives up high, down low etc

B. Getting in close - stepping back for a wider angle shot

C. Moving around your subject to shoot from different sides

D. Experimenting with different settings (teaching them about different exposure modes)

2. Check your BackgroundsA very simple concept that can enhance an image is to check out the background of a shot to check for clutter or distraction.Teach kids to scan the background (and the foreground) of an image quickly and to change their framing if there’s too many distractions - otherwise their shots will end up like mine used to with all kinds of objects growing out of the heads of those I was photographing (like telephone poles).3. Hold the Camera StraightThe other obvious problem with many of my first images is that they rarely lined up straight. In fact after viewing my first album for a few minutes I began to feel quite dizzy!While shots that are not straight can be quite effective (they can be playful or give a more "candid" feel to them) it is good to teach kids to check the framing of their shot before hitting the shutter.4. How to Hold a CameraIt is easy to assume that everyone knows how to hold a digital camera - however while many people do not - particularly kids who are unfamiliar with them. In fact I’ve seen a lot of adults who could do with a lesson or two on how to hold a camera and whose images must suffer with camera shake as a result of poor technique.A quick lesson on securing your camera could help a child get clear, shake free images for years to come.Here’s the correct way to hold your camera…

•Bring The Camera Close To You

•Use the Viewfinder

•Use the Hold In Both Hands

•Bring Your Elbows To Your Side

•Hold Your Breath

•Look for Extra StabilityBring your camera close to your face and use the optical viewfinder (if your camera has one) to compose the shot rather than the LCD screen. This way, your camera is steadied by your body.Hold the camera in both hands, and keep both elbows close to your side to give your camera the most stability. This turns your body into a kind of make-shift tripod.If your camera doesn’t have an optical viewfinder, use the screen to compose and then bring the camera to your face. Or keep your elbows close to your body and move the camera a foot away from your face. This way your camera is still supported AND you can see the screen.Just before you take the shot, take a breath. Hold it while taking the shot.Finally, look for some extra stability by leaning against a post or wall. You’ll be surprised how much this can reduce blurry images.There are other ways to reduce shake in your images like increasing your shutter speed, or using special image stabilization lenses. But holding the camera close to your body is the cheapest!5. Get in CloseAlmost all of the shots that took in my first rolls of film have my subject somewhere off into the distance of the shot. This is partly because the camera that I was using didn’t have a zoom lens - but it was partly because I didn’t understand how getting in close would help capture the detail of a subject.Teach kids how to use the zoom on your digital camera - but don’t forget to teach them how using their legs to move closer can achieve the same results!Fill the frame!!! So how do you fill your frame?You’ve got three options:Use your Optical Zoom - most point and shoot digital cameras these days come with a zoom lens and all DSLRs are able to be fitted with one. Use them.Use your Legs - most photographers have a built in zoom in the form of their legs. Don’t just rely upon your cameras zoom but actually position yourself effectively for close in shots.Crop your Shots - the other option is to zoom in manually at home after you’ve taken your shots. This is a handy option to have but I personally prefer to use one of the first two options where I can because cropping shots later means if you want a large image that you’ll find that it becomes more pixelated. This is a good option if you’re just trimming shots but any major cropping will result in a loss of quality of your image.Digital Zooms - Another option that many digital camera owners use is to utilize their ‘digital zoom’. Most digital cameras these days have boast about having digital zooms but don’t tell you that to use them will decrease the quality of your shots in a similar way that cropping your shots can. In essence a digital zoom fills your frame by increasing the size of pixels in your shots when can leave you with a grainy impact. I would highly recommend switching off your digital zoom feature and relying upon option 1 and 2 above. If you still need to get in closer you can always crop your shots and achieve the same results as using your digital zoom.6. Take Lots of PhotosWhile my Dad’s advice did save our family a lot of money at the time - with the advent of digital photography, taking lots of pictures is no longer something that is too costly (although there are costs in terms of storing them all). Taking lots of images is a great way to learn different techniques of photography.While you probably will want to encourage your kids not to take 100 shots of exactly the same thing - encourage them to experiment with lots of different shots over time and as they do you’ll see their photography improve.7. Getting the Balance Right Between Photographing People, “Things” and PlacesI still remember coming back from my first trip as a teenager (a school trip) and showing my family members my photos. Their first comment was that I had hardly taken any shots of people. All my shots had been of buildings. While some of them were interesting - I missed one of the most important aspects of the trip - those I was traveling with.8. Find a Point of InterestInteresting photographs have interesting things in them - they need a visual point of interest (a focal point). Teach your kids to identify what this point of interest is before hitting the shutter.Once they’ve identified the point of interest they can then think about how to highlight it (by positioning themselves, using their zoom etc).Techniques to Enhance the Focal Point in an ImageA focal point can be virtually anything ranging from a person, to a building, to a mountain, to a flower etc. Obviously the more interesting the focal point the better - but there are other things you can do to enhance it’s power including:Position - Place your focal point in a prominent position - you might want to start with the rule of thirds for some ideas.Focus - Learn to use Depth of Field to blur out other aspects in front or behind your focal point.Blur - If you really want to get tricky you might want to play with slower shutter speeds if your focal point is still and things around it are moving.Size - making your focal point large is not the only way to make it prominent - but it definitely can help. Color - using contrasting colors can also be a way of setting your point of interest apart from it’s surroundings.Shape - similarly contrasting shapes and textures can make a focal point stand out - especially patterns that are repeated around a subject.Keep in mind that a combination of above elements can work well together.Lastly - don’t confuse the viewer with too many competing focal points, which might overwhelm the main focal point. Secondary points of interest can be helpful to lead the eye but too many strong ones will just clutter and confuse.9. Rule of ThirdsA simple principle of photography that I’ve taught a number of kids is the Rule of Thirds. While I’ve talked numerous times about how breaking this rule can also be a powerful effect - it is something that I’ve found really can lift a child’s images - particularly when they are photographing other people.Even if the child doesn’t completely understand to position their subject right on the intersecting third points - to teach them how to place their subject off centre can be enough.It’s one of the first things that Digital photographers learn about in classes on photography and rightly so as it is the basis for well balanced and interesting shots.I will say right up front however that rules are meant to be broken and ignoring this one doesn’t mean your images are necessarily unbalanced or uninteresting. However a wise person once told me that if you intend to break a rule you should always learn it first to make sure your breaking of it is all the more effective!What is the Rule of Thirds?The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. As follows.As you’re taking an image you would have done this in your mind through your viewfinder or in the LCD display that you use to frame your shot.With this grid in mind the ‘rule of thirds’ now identifies four important parts of the image that you should consider placing points of interest in as you frame your image.Not only this - but it also gives you four ‘lines’ that are also useful positions for elements in your photo.The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot - using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it.10. Review Your Children’s Images with ThemOne thing that you can do to help your children drastically improve their photography is to sit down at the computer with them after they’ve been out with their camera to go through their shots.As you scroll through them pause to affirm them with what they’ve done well and to point out things that they could do better next time to improve their results. Pay particular attention to the shots that they do well with as this will give them positive reinforcement and inspiration to keep going with their hobby.11. Focal LockOne important technique that children will do well to learn is how to use focal lock. While most cameras do well in auto focusing upon subjects there are times when you’ll end up with shots that are out of focus because the camera doesn’t know what the main subject is (particularly if they are placing subjects off centre with the rule of thirds).Teach your child how to press the shutter halfway down to focus and then to frame the shot while still holding it down and they’ll have a skill that they’ll use forever!It’s a very simple technique and something that virtually every digital camera have the ability to do.Here’s what you do:Pose your subject.When framing your subject put the central point of your frame on the point that you want to focus upon (the face of a person is generally the best point).With the subject’s face in the centre of your image half press down on the shutter button (not fully). This will tell the camera to focus on that point.Without letting go of the shutter (it should still be half depressed) move your camera to frame your shot as you want it (the person’s face doesn’t need to be centered now).Once you’ve got the framing right press the shutter the rest of the way and the shot will be taken with the right focusing even though the centre of your image might not be the person’s face.This technique is not just useful for taking photos of people when they’re not central in your shots but can also be used in many other types of photography. For example in Macro shots when you want to place the insect or flower that you’re photographing off centre (using the rule of thirds) you might want to use focal lock. Similarly if you were taking a landscape shot but wanted to focus upon a house in the foreground that was off centre rather than the horizon you’d use this technique.This technique is one that most people know but it’s something that beginners should master in the early days of their photography, as it’s something you’ll use constantly. It might take a little practice but after a while it will become second nature to you.

12. Different Modes for Different SituationsThe day that i discovered my family's film camera had a little dial for different “shooting modes” on it was a day my photography improved a little. Most digital cameras these days have the ability to switch a camera into modes like “portrait”, ’sports’, ‘macro’ etc. Teach your child what these modes mean and when to switch to them and you’ll be taking them a step closer to learning about how their camera works and how to learn about manual exposure modes.Just knowing that different situations will mean you need to use different settings is an important lesson for kids to learn as it helps them to become more aware of not only their subject but things like how light, focal distance and subject movement can impact a shot.Automatic ModesAutomatic ModeI suspect no one will need any introduction to this mode (as it seems most digital camera owners use it). Auto mode tells your camera to use its best judgment to select shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus and flash to take the best shot that it can. With some cameras auto mode lets you override flash or change it to red eye reduction. This mode will give you nice results in many shooting conditions, however you need to keep in mind that you’re not telling your camera any extra information about the type of shot you’re taking so it will be "guessing" as to what you want. As a result some of the following modes might be more appropriate to select as they give your camera a few more hints (without you needing to do anything more).Portrait ModeWhen you switch to portrait mode your camera will automatically select a large aperture (small number) which helps to keep your background out of focus (it sets a narrow depth of field - ensuring your subject is the only thing in focus and is therefore the centre of attention in the shot). Portrait mode works best when you’re photographing a single subject so get in close enough to your subject (either by zooming in or walking closer) so that your photographing the head and shoulders of them). Also if you’re shooting into the sun you might want to trigger your flash to add a little light onto their face.Macro ModeMacro mode lets you move your closer into your subject to take a close up picture. It’s great for shooting flowers, insects or other small objects. Different digital cameras will have macro modes with different capabilities including different focussing distances (usually between 2-10cm for point and shoot cameras). When you use macro mode you’ll notice that focussing is more difficult as at short distances the depth of field is very narrow (just millimeters at times). Keep your camera and the object you’re photographing parallel if possible or you’ll find a lot of it will be out of focus. You’ll probably also find that you won’t want to use your camera’s built in flash when photographing close up objects or they’ll be burnt out. Lastly - a tripod is invaluable in macro shots as the depth of field is so small that even moving towards or away from your subject slightly can make your subject out of focus. (I’ll write a full tutorial on Macro Photography in the coming weeks).Landscape ModeThis mode is almost the exact opposite of portrait mode in that it sets the camera up with a small aperture (large number) to make sure as much of the scene you’re photographing will be in focus as possible (ie it give you a large depth of field). It’s therefore ideal for capturing shots of wide scenes, particularly those witch points of interest at different distances from the camera. At times your camera might also select a slower shutter speed in this mode (to compensate for the small aperture) so you might want to consider a tripod or other method of ensuring your camera is still.Sports ModePhotographing moving objects is what sports mode (also called "action mode" in some cameras) is designed for. It is ideal for photographing any moving objects including people playing sports, pets, cars, wildlife etc. Sports mode attempts to freeze the action by increasing the shutter speed. When photographing fast moving subjects you can also increase your chances of capturing them with panning of your camera along with the subject and/or by attempting to pre focus your camera on a spot where the subject will be when you want to photograph it (this takes practice).Night ModeThis is a really fun mode to play around with and can create some wonderfully colorful and interesting shots. Night mode (a technique also called "slow shutter sync") is for shooting in low light situations and sets your camera to use a longer shutter speed to help capture details of the background but it also fires off a flash to illuminate the foreground (and subject). If you use this mode for a "serious" or well balanced shot you should use a tripod or your background will be blurred - however it’s also fun to take shots with this handheld to purposely blur your backgrounds - especially when there is a situation with lights behind your subject as it can give a fun and experimental look (great for parties and dance floors with colored lights).Movie ModeThis mode extends your digital camera from just capturing still images to capturing moving ones. Most new digital cameras these days come with a movie mode that records both video but also sound. The quality is generally not up to video camera standards but it’s a handy mode to have when you come across that perfect subject that just can’t be captured with a still image. Keep in mind that moving images take up significantly more space on your memory storage than still images.Other less common modes that I’ve seen on digital cameras over the past year include:Panoramic/Stitch Mode - for taking shots of a panoramic scene to be joined together later as one image.Snow Mode - to help with tricky bright lighting at the snowFireworks Mode - for shooting firework displaysKids and Pets Mode - fast moving objects can be tricky - this mode seems to speed up shutter speed and help reduce shutter lag with some pre focussing.Underwater Mode - underwater photography has it’s own unique set of exposure requirementsBeach Mode - another bright scene modeIndoor Mode - helps with setting shutter speed and white balanceFoliage Mode - boosts saturation to give nice bold colors13.New modes are being created on the line of Digital cameras coming soon. Use the modes, but practice, practice, practice with them, before you take your camera on a family trip or shoot a special event, like a birthday.13. Exposure SettingsOnce your child has a good grasp on the above techniques it might be time to teach them some basics of exposure (this might be one for slightly older kids). Learning about the three elements of ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed are a useful place to start your lessons and giving them an introduction to how changing these settings can impact a photo.The best way for them to learn this is by introducing them to Aperture and Shutter priority modes.Aperture Priority AV or AShutter Priority AV or AISOWhat do You Teach Your Children?Of course deciding which of the above lessons for kids on photography to teach your child will depend upon their age and experience. Some are obviously more appropriate for some children than others. I’d be interested to hear what readers do when it comes to this topic? What have you taught your kids?With my nephew (who is now 11 years old), I started him out young teaching him to become familiar with cameras - showing him images once they’ve been taken on the LCD, letting him look through the viewfinder and even pressing the shutter. This familiarization is really nothing more than that - but in doing so he’s becoming more comfortable with cameras - and I’ve noticed when I’m photographing him (which does happen a lot) he’s much more happy to pose for me.​